Building Construction

Articles related to building construction technology and other aspects of civil engineering

Guide to Construction of Terrace Garden | RCC Construction

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Construction of Terrace Gardens

People living in Bungalows usually fancy having a Terrace Garden. Some people have their terrace Garden idea incorporated into the design in the construction phase, which is the right time to go for it; whereas some people initiate the construction of a Terrace Garden on a normal flat roof which was not meant to take moisture and weight of the garden.

Construction of a Terrace Garden
Construction of a Terrace Garden

Two major problems arise because of the unmonitored construction of Terrace Gardens:

  1. Development of Cracks in the roof
  2. Leakage of water

Usually, people tend to ignore the fact that the weight imposed on the roof by the Terrace Garden has to be properly waterproofed and taken care of if they wish to avoid further construction problems.

In this article, we will briefly go through the steps for the construction of a Terrace Garden and also the waterproofing technique.

How to construct a Terrace Garden?

Here are the few simple steps for the construction of a terrace garden:

Step one:

After the RCC slab for the terrace garden is laid, take cement and waterproofing material and splash it on the entire slab inorder to cover every corner of the slab with the water-proofing material.

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Importance of Home Insurance Policies | Prevention from Future Damages

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How to select Home Insurance Plans?

Home insurance is an important decision to be taken by every family to ensure safety for their property from damage caused by Natural calamities or human activities.

People usually misunderstand the importance of Home Insurance because they consider it to be an investment with no returns. The problem with the people is that they believe that there is nothing bad going to happen for which they have take precautions.

But actually, by avoiding to pay insurance money, they are devoid of prevention from future damages which would involve many times more money than required to pay insurance instalments.

Home Insurance of a Residence
Home Insurance of a Residence

How do Insurance companies function?

The word “insurance” means “protection against future loss”. Insurance companies make insurance policies which would benefit people.

Insurance companies take a certain percentage of money depending on the size of the property every year. You have to pay certain amount of money in instalments every year.

The amount for the instalments also depend on the policy chosen by the you. Make sure that you choose Insurance plans that would meet all your requirements (needs and preferences).

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Stitching Cracks in the Walls | Design of RCC Structures

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How to stitch the cracks in the plastering of the wall and prevent further cracking?

Occurrence of cracks in a building is a common problem to deal with. The intensity of the problem of the occurrence of cracks increases with the increased depth of the cracks.

The cracks are generally classified into two major categories:

  1. Minor Cracks or Surface cracks
  2. Major cracks or Structural Cracks

Minor cracks or Surface Cracks

In one of my earlier articles, I discussed various reasons for the occurrence of minor cracks or Surface cracks. Surface cracks do not result in making the structure unsound. The structural stability is intact incase of minor cracks. The aesthetics are affected due to the occurrence of minor cracks.

Major Cracks or Structural cracks

Major cracks or Structural cracks as the name suggests are responsible for making the structure unsound in nature. When deeper cracks are seen to develop on structural components such as columns, beams, foundations, these cracks are termed as Structural cracks since they cause structural damage.

Now we will go ahead with discussing how the cracks occurring on the plastered surface can be stitched and prevented from further deepening…

Stitching cracks
Stitching cracks

The small diagonal grooves are made across the crack.

16mm diameter steel rods are embedded in the grooves and are then covered with cement concrete.

If there are too many cracks occurring on the plastered surface, remove the entire plaster and plaster it again.

Failures in Buildings | Important Construction Materials

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Defects in Buildings | Building Materials used in Construction

In my previous article, we began with a discussion on Building Materials used for Construction. We have already discussed the two major building materials such as Sand and Mud. Now we will go on and discuss the role of water, Cement and Cement Mortar in Construction.

Water in Construction

Salt free water should be used on the construction site for the mixing of cement. If salty water is used in the construction, it will result in formation of cracks in the building.

For example: Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, India has brine water below 100’. That is why, the bore cannot be dug to more than 80’ feet for water to be used on the construction site.

Cement in Construction

There are various grades of cement available for the purpose of construction.

For example: M15, M20, M25 etc

The grade of cement to be used for construction is decided on the basis of the kind of construction and the structural design.

Cement is always used along with steel, that is RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) construction. Only cement cannot be used because it develops cracks.

Grooves are made over the layer of cement mortar.

For example: When cement flooring is done, a thin layer of cement is laid and grooves are made on the cement layer to prevent cracks.

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Defects in Construction | Building Materials used in Construction

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Building Materials used in Construction | Defects in Buildings

The building materials used for construction of the building are the major factors of a successful structure or a failed structure. The major core materials that are responsible for the standing structure are:

  1. Sand
  2. Mud
  3. Cement
  4. Water
  5. Cement Mortar

Usually, the failure of a building is due to the development of cracks. The intensity of damage describes the kind of crack and the repair measures to be taken….

There are two major types of cracks:

  1. Minor causes of Cracks resulting in minor cracks or surface cracks in Buildings
  2. Major causes of cracks resulting in major cracks or structural cracks in Buildings
Villas Construction site, India
Villas Construction site, India

The purpose of writing this article was to figure out the different building materials used for different purposes and how their quality or the quality of their mixture affects the structure as a whole.

Uses of Sand in Construction

Sand is the major building material used in any kind of construction. It is used in every phase of the construction project, i.e. from the foundation to the finishing of the floor.

There are three major varieties of sand:

a) Fine sand

b) Coarse sand

c) Medium sand

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Repair of cracks in the RCC Staircase | Building Construction

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What would you do in case of a RCC staircase having cracks?

The development of cracks occurring in RCC staircase is one of the major problems to deal with in RCC construction.

Before we go to the ultimate solution of the repair of cracks in a staircase, I would want all the students to know that, “Design in a way that you would never have to look for solutions”.

This is an important matter. The graver the problem, the harsher and shorter the solution is….

Basic elements of Staircase
Basic elements of Staircase

Earlier, in one of my article, I have explained the “Design of RCC Staircase”. Please do go through before designing….

RCC staircase cracks

There are two types of cracks, they are;

  1. Minor cracks or surface cracks
  2. Major cracks or structural Cracks

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Factors causing damage to the building | Failures in Buildings

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Factors causing damage to the building | Building Construction

Major damage to the building is usually caused by the natural calamities. But there are various factors that can cause damage to the buildings.

Some of them are as follows:

  • Erosion
  • Earthquake
  • Natural Calamities
  • Violence
  • Fire
  • Lack of maintenance
Cracks in a Building at San Francisco
Cracks in a Building at San Francisco

The damage incurred to the building is usually in the form of major and minor cracks. Major cracks could be structural cracks which cause immense damage to the structure. Earlier, I wrote two articles on the subject “Cracks in Buildings“. The cracks are classified depending on the amount of damage they cause to the structure.

Physical inspections to be done in a building

After the construction of any building, periodical inspections of physical components of the building are to be carried out.  Physical inspections help us in keeping a check on the damage or wear and tear caused to the structure. Inspection is important so that we identify the problem and repair it before it gets unrepairable.

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Tips to Building Construction | Repairing an Antique door and a Cracked brick wall

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Repairing an Old Rotting Antique Door and Repairing a 14″ crack brick wall | Building Construction

In this article, I have mentioned two cases where the remedy for their repair is briefly explained. This sounds very easy but I am sure it will be of good help to all the Architecture and Civil Engineering students…

How would you restore an old rotting antique door?

The dimensions of the antique door are 7’x4’.

The rotting part of the door is to be cut carefully.

And the cut part of the door is replaced by the similar variety of wood.

After replacing the wood, give a similar finish to the door.

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Tips of Building Construction | Civil Engineering

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Method of Luppm Finish and Cleaning of pinhead glass | Building Construction

This is a simple article which deals with two different topics explained in a very brief manner. I hope it will be helpful to the students of architecture and Engineering….

How would you clean a 3mm pinhead glass?

Usually, a chemical called as “aerosols” are used for cleaning 3mm pinhead glass.

The welded design on the pinhead glass can be made plain with the help of some chemical powder and then rubbing the glass with a sandpaper.

How would you luppm finish on an already painted wall?

Oil paint + whiting powder= luppm paste is made.

The paint and plaster of the already painted wall is scraped out.

Then the wall is made rough by chiselling or the wall is brushed by a “wire brush” that makes the wall rough.

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Concept of Fire Zoning | National Building Code

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Concept of Fire Zoning | Division of Fire Zones in the city

Concept of Fire Zoning is based on the landuse pattern of the city or town.  This article is written in reference with National Building Code. The concept of Fire Zoning includes:

  1. Demarcation
  2. Number and Designation of Fire Zones
  3. Change in Fire Boundaries
  4. Overlapping of Fire Zones
  5. Temporary Buildings or Structures
  6. Restrictions on Existing Buildings

Demarcation

The city or area is demarcated into distinct zones based on fire hazard inherent in the buildings and structures according to the type of occupancy. The zones in which these areas are divided are termed as “Fire Zones”.

Number and Designation of Fire Zones

The division of the area of the city into different zones depends on various factors such as:

  • Existing Layout
  • Types of building construction
  • Classification of existing buildings based on occupancy
  • Expected future development of the city or area

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